And it couldnt have been a worse one...

Finally broke down and took my car to Acura after about $200.00 in troubleshooting fixes (sensors, switches, relays, etc.) Acura calls me back about 6 hours later with terrible news.

"Sir, you have a blown head gasket and warped heads." Awesome.

So now, I'm on day 3 without my TL and gotta wait til Wednesday to get it back, also I have a "chump change" bill of $2,035.00

They're replacing both HG's, machining heads, full timing service, and all new belts... so now im scheduling my counseling sessions with a rape advocate and hopefully will have my baby back and running like a champ! Maybe they'll even replace my idler pulley that's on its way out

Anyways, I know I received a lot of help from guys like 01tl4tl, milwaukeedave, fsttyms1 and various others, and for all the help, I say thanks!!

 

should bring that pulley tensioner to there attention while there doing all that stuff, mine had gone bad too sounded like a loud grinding noise and a sleigh ride griding haha got a new tensioner pulley and belt and now its nice and quite i did that and my spark plugs at the same time couldnt of been any happier

 

Wow, why not just get a used engine for like $500?

 

was wondering this myself, too

 

acura wont install one

as soon as any temp change occurs on the TL you need to be on it

definetly have then replace ac belt tensioner now,,they have all the belts off...

 

new ac tensioner,
new spark plugs for sure
no extra labor as those parts are removed for other work

 

Speaking of relays, is it possible to test them?

The reason I ask, a few months ago I had my entire cooling system replaced. $1,600 later and it seemed to be fine. In the last couple months I noticed my cooling fans not kicking on and the car heating up drastically in stop and go traffic and idling.

 

Hey Bryangst, If I understood your last post correctly.....you stated that you recently spent $1600 to "replace your TL's entire cooling system". That seems like alot of money !
What all exactly was replaced ? If I were in your shoes, I'd be going right back to whoever did this work and have them make it right.
End of story !

 

you can swap relay with another of the same color to test

no driver fan at all?
driver fan runs after shutdown for several minutes? (thats fan sensor A failure)
and with ac on what happens with both fans?

low on coolant in rad?
and res bottle,,inside the cap- has its rubber hose attached?

 

Admittedly, I don't know what the "entire cooling system" consists of. I am sure it is included in the list I am about to provide, however:

• Radiator Hoses - 20.99, 27.99
• Water pump - 94.90
• Timing belt kit - 166.99
• Dayco (what are these?) - 24.99, 14.99
• Motor Mount - 79.99
• Radiator - 138
• Radiator cap - 15.99
• Reverse flush - 120
• Thermostat - 31.99
• Gasket - 3.99
• Coolant 19.99
• Labor - 875

The driver fan doesn't kick on at all after shutdown. The fans just don't come on at all, with ac on, after shut down, or when sitting idle in traffic.

In the work order for the shop I went to, they simply noted the fans as not working with no further diagnosis on it.

I am definitely not low on coolant in the rad or in the res bottle. Rubber hose attached.

 

@Bryangst:
Check fuses, relays and sensors.
Try burping the cooling system of air.
Test the fan motors, bypass electrical circuit by direct jumper from 12v battery.
If unsure of process, take to a shop........don't let the motor overheat, or risk damage !

 

If at all possible, I would like to avoid the shop. How can I check the sensors to make sure they are functioning properly?

 

by jumper wiring the fan power
if it runs then its probably a sensor

Spin fans by hand with engine dead cold,,do they spin freely?

Fan sensor A located in lower right corner of rad (00+)
very common failure, surprising it wasnt replaced with rad
Strange/BS they charged a flush and replaced rad,,

you get nothing for fans with ac on?
driver fan may run a minute or 2 after shutdown at normal temp
at stoplights is should cycle a few times at a long light

burp the cooling system per owner book yourself
make sure heater is on full hot temp- cabin fan On while doing that

dayco are belts that run alt,ps ac etc

once we help you figure this out- that shop owes you money and maybe an engine-
-dont drive it like this!!

It came in for a cooling problem, and at the end they note: fans inop!
total BS ,,,cant send a car out with same problem it came in with
replaced everything and didnt know about a simple fan sensor as root cause
Not a great shop, definetly didnt know acura probs

 

the relays and fuses are clearly marked on their covers,,look under hood

ck if the sensor lead is plugged in for fan sensor A
99s its at thermostat, others at corner of rad

BUY a fan sensor and install ! local parts store or dealer

 

Bryan, I believe I had the same problem as you. My fans just up and stopped working and had no idea what was going on. In the picture below, you'll see I fabbed jumper wires where the cooling and condenser fan relays go, if you jump those and the fans are working, chances are you have a bad fan timer switch. That's what my problem was.

The fan timer switch is located behind the stereo in the cabin. It's #3 and only $25 from acuraoemparts.com

 

so we have fan temp sensor based part in radiator which is the common failure
if fan operates but not at correct time

and a timer of some sorts

the things I learn on zine!

 

Excellent info, Thanks Assclown !

Hidden away behind the stereo, tricky & sly hide & seek !

How hard is it to actually get at ?

By chance, would you be able to provide an actual listing identifying
the parts illustrated ?

I realize that info would be available on www.acuraoemparts.com
But it'd be fitting to have it attached to this thread for quick reference.

Thanks again for unlocking this "hidden treasure" !

 

Awesome, thank all of you for the extremely helpful information.

Payday happens in a few days, so repairs will happen then!

 

Hey Bryangst, if you don't feel comfortable checking out this stuff.....I'd recommend paying a visit to the shop that last did all of this work on the TL. IMO, they at a minumum owe you the courtesy of troubleshooting a problem which they were paid $1600 to have fixed recently. Just go in with your paperwork and explain that your car is overheating.

What have you got to lose ? You should not be faced with redoing their shoddy workmanship on the car. These are simple checks that shoud've been done before.

 

What if the receipt is from February of this year? Most of their warranties cover about a years worth of work, but nothing that covers the specific problem I'm having. And in recent review of the work order, they note the fans as not working and that further diagnostics were needed, yet no work actually being done on it. Obviously that is something they should have looked into further and didn't. I would imagine that should be enough to take it back and say that it needs to be corrected, right?

I would love to avoid them at all costs at this point, as they led me to believe that all concerns had been taken care of. However shoddy work shouldn't go unnoticed.

 

At this point, you have absolutely nothing to lose by trying to have them stand behind their work. It is somewhat complicated a bit by the lapse of time. Was the mileage noted on the invoice at the time the work was done ? That may help you if the car has only been driven minimally since the repairs.

The disclaimer that may come into play is the "Note, concerning fans not operable". That may be the straw that broke the camel's back, if the recommended follow up diagnostics were not done. The assumption may be that all was well and there was no need at the time for concern. I'm unsure if that note was fully explained at the time, but IMO....it would only make sense to ensure that the fans were working properly at the time of repairs. After laying out $1600 to the shop, that would've only been chump change !

 

There definitely was no disclaimer saying that all was well and good after repairs were made. Anyway, I did snap of a few photos of the receipt and work order:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jjfwpic5p...OaM2RT/Mac%27s

It is also worth noting that they did print the mileage on the receipt, and I have put on almost 4000 miles since.

 

One other thing to check is the Ground to the fan. It will cause intermittent or complete loss of fan operation. A simple way to test it is just get a "T" tap and tap into the ground wire shortly after the fan plug in and make a new ground. I recently had that issue

 

good one kris thanks,,
even our mega moderator has problems with his nearly 500,000 MILE!! 2000 TL

I ran an shop,,you win this one in small claims court hands down
in for overheat,,,massive repairs indicate a severe and primary cooling problem
they failed to repair or even diagnose the most common basic issue- fans

any good shop would never have let that car leave not fixed
and certainly not without a signed disclaimer for `customer refuses further diagnosis!`

they screwed you, go file small claims
never let them touch the car again
go to a good shop and let them fix prob if you cant
get documentation of any work done wrong

they didnt even replace tensioners iirc,,just basic tbelt wp and belts
tensioners on an overheat should be mandatory,,not going to last another 105k for sure

plus flush engine block? maybe they tried a full rad flush and it was clogged so then a new rad was ordered, and they still charged for a service we dont even need

 

If you go to acuraoemparts.com and tell it your car's info, the fan timer is located in the "Control - Cabin" section, then it'll list all the info.

it's not hard, it's possible to access it without removing the stereo, all you'd have to do is pull the woodgrain trim and the passenger side panel, however that can get tricky. I pulled the radio to have full access to the part. Simple as that.

 

I took my TL back to the shop yesterday and basically demanded they further diagnose the issues I am having. He wanted to charge me for the electrical diagnostics AND for an inspection.

Long story short, dude told me today that a radiator fan motor went out and that the relay is bad. I'm not going to let them continue work on the car, so I'll probably find a DIY for the motor and get it taken care of myself.

 

Very easy job, at least now you know what the problem is. A simple enough thing for them to have taken care of properly at the initial time of previous work. Hopefully you've caught it in time before the overheating had a chance to do further internal damage to your car's engine.

 

If you don't trust what the mechanic says, troubleshooting the fan motor is super simple. Just unplug the fan motor, and run a postive and negative wire to the battery, if the fan works, your motor is fine, if not, there's your problem.

 

I'm going to trust that it's the motor and go ahead and just replace it and the relay. The fix will be simple and cheap enough.

 

spin the fan motor by hand,,stiff or jerky is def bad

 

Hey Bryangst, do your self a favor and save a few bucks to boot......just trust the proceeding posts from Assclown and Fsttyms1. They gave you the information you need to know for the simple electrical testing of the fan's motor. Why not try it as you may be able to get off with just replacing one part instead of two ! The relay can be swapped with another of the same to check.

 

I did the tests and discovered that the motor was indeed not working. Did the repairs today and is working very well now.